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The films that shocked people in the '60s

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Hollywood studios agreed to movie self-censorship from '30s to '60s under Production Code

Censorship collapsed in wake of "Virginia Woolf," "Blow-Up" and "Bonnie and Clyde"

Led by Jack Valenti, studios and theater owners backed system rating movies in 1968

Movies go by system today despite criticism that ratings inconsistent, easier on violence

It was a "three-piss" movie.

That was studio chief Jack Warner's review of "Bonnie and Clyde" when he first screened it in 1967. Early reaction from influential critics decrying its violence wasn't much better.

Making "Bonnie and Clyde" would have been impossible for Warner Bros. a few years earlier. Its portrayal of attractive young killers would have collided with the censorship code, which demanded "the sympathy of the audience shall never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin."

But Hollywood was undergoing a revolution as social change swept the country in the 1960s. The youth-oriented "Bonnie and Clyde" was one of the final nails in the coffin of the Production Code, or Hays Code, the self-censorship that had ruled American movies for more than 30 years. The industry would soon ditch the strict regulations and adopt ratings that allowed filmmakers more freedom and let parents decide which films their children could see.

The decade was ripe for the ratings system, according to Joan Graves, current head of the movie ratings board. "There was upheaval everywhere. It was a complete reversal of rules," she says.

The '60s conjure up images of sex, violence, drugs, and political and social revolt, but few American films then could reflect this tumult.

Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

60 iconic moments from the 1960s – Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll defined the 1960s. But the decade was also a time of pivotal change — politically, socially and technologically. Check out 60 of the most iconic moments of the decade.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

The 'Greensboro Four' – On February 1, 1960, four African-American college students made history just by sitting down at a whites-only lunch counter at a Woolworth's in Greensboro, North Carolina. Service never came for the "Greensboro Four," as they came to be known, and their peaceful demonstration drew national attention and sparked more "sit-ins" in Southern cities.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Elvis discharged from the military – Elvis Presley's musical heyday was in the 1950s, but he remained a major star in the 1960s. Here, Presley, 25, is pictured with his future wife, Priscilla, shortly before his discharge from the U.S. Army in 1960. Presley served two years in the Army.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Sharpeville massacre in South Africa – Wounded people in South Africa's Sharpeville township lie in the street on March 21, 1960, after police opened fire on black demonstrators marching against the country's segregation system known as apartheid. At least 180 black Africans, most of them women and children, were injured and 69 were killed in the Sharpeville massacre that signaled the start of armed resistance against apartheid.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

The laser is born – Theodore Maiman pours liquid nitrogen into a cooling unit around one of the first experimental lasers in his laboratory in Santa Monica, California. Maiman's ruby laser, created on May 16, 1960, is considered to be one of the top technological achievements of the 20th century. It paved the way for fiber-optic communications, CDs, DVDs and sight-restoring surgery.

Nixon-Kennedy debate – The first televised presidential debate was on September 26, 1960, and it involved U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon, left, and Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts. The debate is largely credited with helping to make a star out of Kennedy, who won the election later that year.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Bay of Pigs invasion – Cuban leader Fidel Castro, lower right, sits inside a tank near Playa Giron, Cuba, during the Bay of Pigs invasion on April 17, 1961. On that day, about 1,500 CIA-backed Cuban exiles landed at Cuba's Bay of Pigs in hopes of triggering an uprising against Castro. It was a complete disaster for President John F. Kennedy's fledgling administration.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

'Sex and the Single Girl' – Helen Gurley Brown, editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, published her book "Sex and the Single Girl" in 1962. The book helped spark the sexual revolution and popularize the notion that the modern woman could "have it all," including a successful career and a fulfilling sex life.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

First interactive video game – In 1962, Massachusetts Institute of Technology students Steve Russell, Martin "Shag" Graetz and Alan Kotok created "Spacewar!" which is widely considered the first interactive video game. Dueling players fired at each other's spaceships using early versions of joysticks. This photo shows the three "Spacewar!" inventors playing the game at Boston's Computer Museum in 1983.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

'Turn on, tune in, drop out' – The drug LSD became popular in the 1960s, leading the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to designate it an experimental drug in 1962. Harvard psychologist Timothy Leary, pictured here, became an advocate for the drug, coining the phrase, "Turn on, tune in, drop out."

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

First James Bond movie – Before Daniel Craig or Pierce Brosnan, there was Sean Connery, who starred in the first James Bond film, "Dr. No," in 1962. With the most recent Bond film released in 2012 ("Skyfall"), the James Bond series is the longest running film series of all time.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Marilyn Monroe dies – Actress Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her apartment on August 5, 1962, at the age of 36. Officials ruled her death as probable suicide from sleeping pill overdose, but to this day there remain many conspiracy theories.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Spider-Man arrives – The No. 15 issue of the "Amazing Fantasy" comic book series, published August 10, 1962, marked the first appearance of Spider-Man. The issue is one of the most valuable comics of all time.

Cuban missile crisis – U.S. President John F. Kennedy delivers a nationally televised address about the Cuban missile crisis on October 22, 1962. After learning that the Soviet Union had begun shipping missiles to Cuba, Kennedy announced a strategic blockade of Cuba and warned the Soviet Union that the U.S. would seize any more deliveries.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Boeing 727 debuts – Crowds in Seattle gather for the first viewing of the Boeing 727 jet in December 1962. The aircraft's first flight would take place on February 9, 1963. The 727 is credited with opening the door to domestic travel for millions of everyday Americans.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Polaroid adds color – Inventor Edwin Land, president and co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation, demonstrates his company's new instant-color film in 1963.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

'The Feminine Mystique' – Betty Friedan energized the feminist movement in 1963 with her book "The Feminine Mystique." The book detailed the frustration of women who were expected to rely on their husbands and children for their happiness.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Patsy Cline's death – Patsy Cline performs at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry in this undated photo. The country music star and three others were killed in a plane crash March 5, 1963, near Camden, Tennessee.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

The Beatles' first album – The Beatles released their first album, "Please Please Me," in the United Kingdom on March 22, 1963. Here, the band is honored on November 18, 1963, for the massive sales of albums "Please Please Me" and "With the Beatles."

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Alabama governor resists desegregation – Federal Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, standing on the right, confronts Alabama Gov. George Wallace at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on June 11, 1963. Wallace is standing in the doorway to prevent two African-American students from entering despite a presidential order. Wallace, who was pro-segregation, later stood aside.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Medgar Evers assassinated – Myrlie Evers, widow of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, comforts their son Darrell while their daughter, Reena, wipes her tears during Evers' funeral on June 18, 1963. Evers was assassinated days earlier at his home in Jackson, Mississippi.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

JFK's Berlin speech – U.S. President John F. Kennedy delivers his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" ("I am a Berliner") speech to a massive crowd in West Berlin on June 26, 1963.

Cronkite becomes anchor – Walter Cronkite sits behind the news desk on the set of the "CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite" in August 1963. One month later, it became network television's first nightly half-hour news program.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Birmingham church bombing – A coffin is loaded into a hearse at a funeral in Birmingham, Alabama, for victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Four African-American girls were killed and at least 14 others were wounded when a bomb blast tore through church services on September 15, 1963. Three former Ku Klux Klan members were later convicted of murder for the bombing.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

First push-button phone – The first push-button telephone was made available to AT&T customers on November 18, 1963. The phone had extension buttons at the bottom for office use.

Instant replay debuts – CBS used instant replay for the first time during the airing of the Army-Navy game that took place December 7, 1963, in Philadelphia's Municipal Stadium.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Berlin Wall opens – More than two years after it was constructed, the Berlin Wall opened for the first time on December 20, 1963, allowing citizens of West Berlin to visit their relatives in communist East Berlin.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Warhol and pop art – Artist Andy Warhol stands in the doorway of his studio, the Factory, in 1964, holding the acetate he used to make his famous Marilyn Monroe paintings. Warhol's work centered on famous personalities and iconic American objects, making him a leading figure in the pop art movement.

Ali becomes heavyweight champ – Boxer Muhammad Ali — then known as Cassius Clay — upsets Sonny Liston in a heavyweight title fight in Miami Beach, Florida, on February 25, 1964. He was 22 years old. A short time later, Clay joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Ford Mustang debuts – The 1965 Ford Mustang was first officially revealed to the public at the 1964 World's Fair in New York. Standard equipment included carpet, bucket seats and a 170-cubic-inch, six-cylinder engine that was coupled with a three-speed floor-shift transmission. With a price that started at just under $2,400, the car captured America's affection and is still being produced today.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Mandela sentenced to life in prison – South African resistance leader Nelson Mandela, left, talks to Cape Town teacher C Andrews in 1964. On June 12, 1964, Mandela was sentenced to life in prison for four counts of sabotage. He was released 27 years later, and when apartheid ended he became the country's first black president.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Civil Rights Act of 1964 – After signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson shakes hands with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The legislation outlawed discrimination in public places and banned discrimination based on race, gender, religion or national origin. It also encouraged the desegregation of public schools.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

'Daisy Girl' ad – "Peace, Little Girl," a 1964 political ad for U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, was arguably the most famous — and the most negative — campaign ad in U.S. history. The ad, which played only once, showed a little girl counting daisy petals before an image of a nuclear explosion. Known as the "Daisy Girl" ad, it was credited with helping Johnson defeat U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater in the landslide 1964 election.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

U.S. troops in South Vietnam – On February 9, 1965, the United States deployed its first combat troops to South Vietnam, significantly escalating its role in the war. Here, the U.S. Marines' 163rd Helicopter Squadron discharges South Vietnamese troops for an assault against the Viet Cong hidden along the tree line in the background.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Malcolm X assassinated – Civil rights activist Malcolm X is carried from the Audubon Ballroom in New York, where he had just been shot on February 21, 1965. He died shortly after.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

'Bloody Sunday' – State troopers swing batons to break up a civil rights voting march in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 1965. "Bloody Sunday," as it became known, helped fuel the drive for passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Voting Rights Act – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson hands a pen to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the signing of the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965. The landmark legislation helped protect minorities who had previously encountered unfair barriers to voting.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

The Watts Riots – Two youths, carrying lampshades from a looted store, run down a street in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles on August 13, 1965. The Watts Riots were sparked by tensions between the city's black residents and police. The six days of violence left 34 dead and resulted in $40 million of property damage.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

'Batman' – The "Batman" TV series debuted in 1966, starring Adam West as the Caped Crusader and Burt Ward as his sidekick, Robin. The show aired for only three seasons, but it was a pop culture sensation at the time and a cult classic for future generations. There was also a feature film in 1966.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

China's Cultural Revolution – Chinese leader Mao Zedong, standing front and center, rides through a Tiananmen Square rally in Beijing in 1966. In May of that year, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution to enforce communism and get rid of old institutions and his political enemies. The political movement careened out of control and led to massive political purges, deaths and destruction before it ended in 1976.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

First Super Bowl – The Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs played the first Super Bowl on January 15, 1967, in Los Angeles. The Packers won the football game 35-10.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Six-Day War – Israeli soldiers stand in front of the Western Wall on June 9, 1967, in the old city of Jerusalem following its recapture from Jordanian rule in the Six-Day War.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Marshall on Supreme Court – Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, with his family at his side, takes his seat at the court for the first time on October 2, 1967. Marshall was the first African-American to be appointed to the high court.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Anti-Vietnam protests – A demonstrator offers a flower to military police at the Pentagon during an anti-Vietnam protest in Washington on October 21, 1967. Marches such as this one helped turn public opinion against the war.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

First human heart transplant – Dr. Christiaan Barnard is shown after performing the first human heart transplant on patient Louis Washkansky on December 3, 1967, in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Tet Offensive – South Vietnamese Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan, chief of the national police, executes suspected Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem — also known as Bay Lop — on a Saigon street on February 1, 1968. It was early in the Tet Offensive, one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

My Lai massacre – Houses in My Lai, South Vietnam, burn during the My Lai massacre on March 16, 1968. American troops came to the remote hamlet and killed hundreds of unarmed civilians. The incident, one of the darkest moments of the Vietnam War, further increased opposition to U.S. involvement in the war.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Martin Luther King assassinated – This photo was taken on April 4, 1968, moments after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed by a sniper as he stood on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. King was in Memphis to support striking sanitation workers.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Robert F. Kennedy assassinated – U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, the brother of former President John F. Kennedy, was shot shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles. Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of assassinating Kennedy and wounding five other people inside the kitchen service pantry of the former Ambassador Hotel.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Democratic National Convention unrest – Members of the New York delegation protest against the Vietnam War during the 1968 Democratic National Convention held in Chicago. Outside, riots erupted, with tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters clashing with Chicago police and National Guard forces.

First men on the moon – Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. salutes the U.S. flag on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969. Aldrin and mission commander Neil Armstrong became the first humans to walk on the moon. Their mission was considered an American victory in the Cold War and subsequent space race, meeting President Kennedy's goal of "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely" before the end of the decade.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Woodstock Music Festival – Singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist Pete Townshend of The Who perform on stage at the Woodstock Music Festival in Bethel, New York. An estimated 400,000 people attended the festival, which took place in August 1969.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Manson murders – Cult leader Charles Manson is taken into court to face murder charges on December 5, 1969, in Los Angeles. At Manson's command, a small group of his most ardent followers brutally murdered five people at the Los Angeles home of film director Roman Polanski on August 8-9, 1969, including Polanski's pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate. Manson was convicted for orchestrating the murders and sentenced to death. The sentence was later commuted to life in prison.

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Photos:60 iconic moments from the 1960s

Forebear of the Internet – With the help of a handful of leading universities and other labs, work began on a project to directly link a number of computers. In 1969, with money from the U.S. Defense Department, the first node of this network was installed on the campus of UCLA. The diagram shows the "network of networks" of ARPANET, as it was called. The forebear of the Internet was born. What did the '60s look like to you? Share your photos here.

The major studios and theater owners in 1968 finally agreed to the voluntary rating system, which originally classified movies into four categories. Anyone who has come of age since the '60s has grown up with movie ratings — initially G, M (later PG), R and X and now G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17. Today, they still determine the way in which movies are released and marketed as well as give parents the responsibility for their children's viewing habits.

Ratings opened the door to a wider variety of films, says Jon Lewis, a film studies professor at Oregon State University and author of "Hollywood v. Hardcore: How the Struggle Over Censorship Saved the Modern Film Industry."

Eventually, the studios came up with "a new range of products that would have been unthinkable before 1968."

With "Bonnie and Clyde," Warner, the aging mogul, showed his disdain and lack of interest for what he considered a gangster movie retread with frequent trips to the toilet, according to the Mark Harris book "Pictures at a Revolution." But younger moviegoers discovered something new in this '60s take on '30s outlaws.

Both it and "The Graduate" appealed to young audiences, precisely what the ratings system intended to help revive the industry, Lewis says.

These two films that captured the decade's rebellious spirit anticipated the new order.

"Their success made it clear to the studios they needed to make a change," he says.

The Production Code, ratified in 1930 and strictly enforced by 1934, forbid "excessive and lustful kissing," "sex perversion," "miscegenation," profanity and "indecent or undue exposure," among other things.

Photos:The Beatles: Myths and misconceptions

Photos:The Beatles: Myths and misconceptions

The Beatles arrived in the U.S. 50 years ago and embarked on a history-making path of pop culture dominance. "The Sixties: The British Invasion" looks at John, Paul, George and Ringo and how the Fab Four's influence persists.

Over the years, the facts of the Beatles' story have sometimes been shoved out of the way by half-truths, misconceptions and outright fiction. Here are a few details you might have heard, with the true story provided by Mark Lewisohn's "Tune In" and others.

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Photos:The Beatles: Myths and misconceptions

John Lennon once said that Ringo Starr not only wasn't the best drummer in rock, he wasn't the best drummer in the Beatles. Biographer Mark Lewisohn says this is a line from a TV comedy sketch in the 1980s -- after Lennon died. The Beatles actually defended Ringo strongly over the years.

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Photos:The Beatles: Myths and misconceptions

The Beatles were against wearing suits. Again, not true, says Lewisohn. Though Lennon later trashed the neat look as a sellout demanded by manager Brian Epstein, in the early '60s they were eager for a change. "I just saw it as playing a game," said Harrison. "I'll wear a f****** balloon if somebody's going to pay me!" said Lennon.

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Photos:The Beatles: Myths and misconceptions

They grew up poor. Not really. Harrison's and McCartney's families were working class, and Lennon's childhood included trips to an upscale relative's house in Scotland. Only Starr, who was also sickly, grew up in poverty, in the blighted Dingle neighborhood.

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Photos:The Beatles: Myths and misconceptions

They booted drummer Pete Best out of jealousy. Producer George Martin wasn't impressed by Best (second from left), and McCartney has said he "was holding us back." The rest of the Beatles were equally unsentimental. Ringo Starr, who had played with the Beatles occasionally, was a far better drummer -- and when he joined, "from that moment on, it gelled," said Harrison.

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Photos:The Beatles: Myths and misconceptions

Stu Sutcliffe was a terrible bassist. Though Sutcliffe (standing, third from left) was no McCartney, he went from complete neophyte to solid rhythm player during the band's Hamburg days. He left the job because he wanted to pursue his painting, and McCartney remembers being "lumbered with" the position as new bassist.

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Photos:The Beatles: Myths and misconceptions

John Lennon saw his mother, Julia, killed in front of him. Julia Dykins, as she was known after her marriage to Bobby Dykins, died on July 15, 1958. After a chat with her sister, John's Aunt Mimi, she went to catch a bus and was hit by a car crossing Menlove Avenue. John found out about her death later that day.

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Photos:The Beatles: Myths and misconceptions

The Beatles made their U.S. television debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show," February 9, 1964. It was the band's first U.S. television performance, but they'd already been seen on American TV during a CBS News segment in December, 1963. Pieces from the segment also ran on Jack Paar's talk show in January 1964.

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Photos:The Beatles: Myths and misconceptions

The title "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a reference to LSD. Though its imagery of "plasticine porters" and "kaleidoscope eyes" owes a lot to drugs (as well as John Lennon's fondness for Lewis Carroll-esque absurdity), the song was inspired by a drawing made by Lennon's son, Julian.

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Photos:The Beatles: Myths and misconceptions

"Paul is dead." An elaborate theory -- perhaps best explained by Joel Glazier in a 1979 article for the Beatles fanzine "Strawberry Fields Forever" -- maintains that Paul McCartney (here with Brian Epstein) died in 1966 and was replaced by a talented double. (There are dozens of clues for you all -- especially on the White Album.) Though it's fascinating to ponder all the backwards sounds and colorful images, this theory says more about our abilities to find patterns than it does about McCartney's fate.

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Photos:The Beatles: Myths and misconceptions

The Beatles performed on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show." Lennon and McCartney did visit "Tonight" on May 14, 1968, but they didn't perform -- and the guest host for the evening was Joe Garagiola. Ed McMahon was around, though.

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Photos:The Beatles: Myths and misconceptions

Yoko Ono broke up the Beatles. Oh, if only Yoko hadn't stolen John away from the group, they would have stayed together! Right. Actually, the Beatles were already fragmenting -- Ringo temporarily left during the making of the White Album, and George walked out during the "Get Back" sessions -- and financial issues were getting in the way of the music. Lennon was ready for something new, but everybody was tired.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – By 1960, television was firmly entrenched as America's new hearth. Close to 90% of households had a TV, making the device almost ubiquitous. The ensuing decade would see the medium grow in both importance and range.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – The first televised presidential debate was on September 26, 1960, and it involved U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon, left, and Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts. The debate is largely credited with helping to make a star out of Kennedy, who won the election later that year.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – First lady Jackie Kennedy is shown in the Red Room of the White House on January 15, 1962, during the CBS News special program "A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy." The program showed off the restoration work that was spearheaded by the first lady.

Defining moments in 1960s television – The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gives his "I Have a Dream" speech to a crowd in Washington during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as the Freedom March, on August 28, 1963. The speech is considered one of the most important in American history, and it helped rally support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Defining moments in 1960s television – Two days after Kennedy's assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald -- the man who had been charged with killing the president -- was fatally shot by Jack Ruby as Oswald was being escorted through the Dallas police basement. Oswald's shooting was shown live on national television.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – In 1963's thrilling Army-Navy game, Navy beat Army 21-15 behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Roger Staubach. Today, the game is best remembered for the introduction of instant replay -- though many TV watchers were unaware of the technology and slammed CBS' switchboard in confusion. Now instant replay is a regular part of sports broadcasts.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – On February 9, 1964, the Beatles made their U.S. debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show," kicking off the American strain of "Beatlemania" -- a fever that had already infected their native Britain. The show remains one of the highest-rated entertainment programs of all time.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC," the announcer intoned. The 1965 fall season opened with almost all of the "Peacock Network's" prime-time schedule produced on color film. By 1973, more than half of TV homes had a color set.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – "A Charlie Brown Christmas" could have been a bland animated special, but thanks to "Peanuts" cartoonist Charles M. Schulz and his collaborators, it was something more. The show, which first aired in 1965, didn't use a laugh track. It included a jazz music score and -- most controversially -- featured Linus reading from the Gospel of Luke. The special was both a critical and commercial hit, and it has become a holiday mainstay.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – The two-part finale of "The Fugitive," which aired in August 1967, concluded the four-year run of the series about a doctor (David Janssen) pursuing a mysterious one-armed man (Bill Raisch) he believes killed his wife. The final episode was the most-watched series episode to that time, with more than 45% of the nation tuning in.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" had a countercultural bent that regularly raised hackles -- and delighted fans. Here, The Who's Pete Townshend, right, helps host Tom Smothers destroy his acoustic guitar as singer Roger Daltrey looks on following The Who's performance of "My Generation." The Smothers' battles with their network, CBS, would eventually lead to the show's cancellation.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – CBS anchor Walter Cronkite reports from Vietnam after the Tet Offensive in 1968. Cronkite's special, "Report from Vietnam by Walter Cronkite," concluded with his observation that the war would end in a stalemate. One month later, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announced he would not seek re-election.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – The 1968 Democratic Convention, held in Chicago, was a scene of chaos both inside and outside the convention hall. At one point, CBS correspondent Dan Rather, center, was treated roughly by security, prompting anchor Cronkite to comment, "I think we've got a bunch of thugs here, Dan." Outside, protesters chanted, "The whole world is watching."

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – The 1968 presidential campaign went down to the wire, and little things may have made the difference -- such as Richard Nixon, the Republican candidate, going on the popular "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" to say one of the show's catchphrases: "Sock it to me." Here, Nixon is flanked by Dan Rowan, left, and Dick Martin at an event in October 1968.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – In September 1968, the newsmagazine "60 Minutes" -- created and produced by Don Hewitt, center -- premiered with Harry Reasoner, left, and Mike Wallace, right. The tremendously influential show spawned a host of imitators and is still on the air today.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – Viewers hoping to see the wild conclusion of the AFL game between the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders got a huge shock on November 17, 1968, when the broadcast was cut off so NBC could air a movie version of "Heidi" starring Jennifer Edwards. Angry fans flooded NBC's switchboard with calls. From then on, all networks stayed with their football contests until the end before moving to regularly scheduled programming. (The Raiders scored two touchdowns in the final minute to come back and beat the Jets in what would forever be known as "The Heidi Game.")

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – In the "Plato's Stepchildren" episode of "Star Trek," which aired November 22, 1968, William Shatner (as Capt. Kirk) and Nichelle Nichols (as Lt. Uhura) kissed -- the first interracial kiss in TV history. The medium grappled cautiously with race relations through the decade.

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Photos:Photos: Defining moments in '60s TV

Defining moments in 1960s television – Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. salutes the U.S. flag on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969. Aldrin and mission commander Neil Armstrong became the first humans to walk on the moon. Globally, more than half a billion people watched on television.

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The studios agreed to these rules to ensure religious groups or local and state censor boards didn't interfere. The studios also owned theaters, so they wouldn't show an independent film lacking code approval. But once the studios had to sell off their theaters after a Supreme Court antitrust decision in 1948, they could no longer control what could be shown.

"Within a year into my new duties, I was almost drowned by a river of controversy I had not anticipated that tested me as nothing before or since," Valenti wrote in his memoir, "This Time, This Place: My Life in War, the White House, and Hollywood."

Before his arrival, "The Pawnbroker" became the first code-approved movie with nude scenes. In the Sidney Lumet film, a Nazi concentration camp survivor (Rod Steiger) recalls the horrors of his wife being stripped naked in the camp in a flashback while a desperate prostitute exposes her breasts to him.

On appeal, "The Pawnbroker" received an exemption to the code as "a special and unique" case that shouldn't be viewed as "setting a precedent." The unraveling had begun.

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The adaptation of the Edward Albee play was full of profanity that had never been heard before in an American movie, including "screw you" and "hump the hostess." In this bruising drama, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton square off as a middle-aged academic couple who invite a young professor and his wife over for an evening of "fun and games."

Director Mike Nichols didn't film any cover shots with less salty language, so the movie would be difficult to tone down. Valenti negotiated with Jack Warner for three hours.

"At the end of the meeting, Jack and I had agreed that we would leave in 'hump the hostess' but take out three instances of 'screw you' and leave one intact," Valenti recalled in his memoir. "Afterward, I told (MPAA general counsel Louis) Nizer I was thoroughly uncomfortable with the meeting. It seemed silly, even absurd, that grown men could be spending their time on such a puerile discussion."

Besides watering down language, Warner Bros. agreed the movie would carry a warning that no one under 18 would be admitted without an adult, a precursor to the R rating.

But Valenti recognized that "throwing the Hays Code over the side and replacing it with the warning 'For Mature Audiences' was not going to cut it. It was too little and very late."

MGM soon bypassed the code entirely with "Blow-Up," distributed through a subsidiary. Michelangelo Antonioni's film about "swinging" London flouted the censors with nudity, sex and drug use, including a photographer's romp with two nude teen girls.

Premier Productions was established for "Blow-Up's" release; code restrictions didn't apply since it wasn't an MPAA member like MGM.

"It sent a message that the studios were so fed up they were willing to set up a make-believe subsidiary," says Lewis, the Oregon State professor.

By that time, "the studios are not on board anymore."

Ratings system takes shape

Fearing the possibility of government action, Valenti became determined to scuttle the code.

His solution was a classification plan, geared toward parents, that the studios had resisted because they thought it would limit audiences.

"The idea was to set up a voluntary movie ratings system, giving advance cautionary information to parents so they could make better decisions about the movies their children went to see," Valenti wrote in his memoir.

It took Valenti two years to sell the concept, first to industry groups and then to religious organizations, according to Graves, chairwoman of the ratings board, the Classification and Rating Administration.

"They are the first line of defense," Graves says. "They not only prefer rated films but enforce (them)."

The system went into effect November 1, 1968. Filmmakers could appeal to an industry panel if they objected to the board's decisions. Critics over the years have contended ratings are arbitrary and tend to be more lenient on violence and tougher on sex and language.

But Valenti always defended his baby.

"It has lived a long, full, useful, and sometimes controversial life," he wrote in his memoir, published shortly after his 2007 death. "... Nothing lasts very long in this brutal, explosive, unpredictable marketplace unless it is conferring some benefit on the people it aims to serve -- in this instance, the parents of America."

The ratings system is not perfect, says Matthew Bernstein, chairman of Emory University's Department of Film and Media Studies, arguing it can have the effect of censorship if filmmakers have to make cuts for a certain rating.

But he says it's important to note the difference between such a system and the old code.

"Classification is different from censorship by its nature. It's one thing to say you can't see a film at all," says Bernstein, also editor of "Controlling Hollywood: Censorship and Regulation in the Studio Era."

Different kinds ofmovies for a new Hollywood

With the code gone, the decade's end saw a flood of adult-oriented films. The themes of violence, sex and outsiderness that "Bonnie and Clyde" explored were prevalent in 1969, the first full year of ratings.

In "Midnight Cowboy," a Texan (Jon Voight) dreams of becoming a hustler in New York and servicing rich women. But he ends up working 42nd Street. Impoverished, he has only one friend, an ill con man (Dustin Hoffman).

"It's a film about -- not a gay prostitute -- but he engages in gay sex acts for money," says Lewis, the Oregon State professor. "I can't even imagine suggesting that pre-1968."

Four years after "The Sound of Music" captured the top Oscar, "Midnight Cowboy" became the first X-rated movie to win best picture, although it was later rated R. (Initially, X didn't carry such a stigma, but it became associated with porn films after the MPAA didn't copyright it. NC-17 replaced X in 1990.)

"The Wild Bunch" has minimal sex but lots of violence. Whereas "Bonnie and Clyde" faced ambush in a quick, shocking hail of bullets, this R-rated Western comes with bookends of gory shootouts that seem to last forever.

Outlaws ride into a Texas border town posing as soldiers to rob a railroad office and square off against bounty hunters in a ferocious gunbattle.

"Ten years earlier it would have been a climactic scene in a movie," Bernstein says. "This film begins with it and escalates further in the final shootout with machine guns."

There, the outlaws get slaughtered in Mexico. "It challenges who's the good guy and who's not. You can't really say," Lewis says.

The violence continues in "Easy Rider," a time capsule of late '60s counterculture. Rednecks fire away at hippies (Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper) on a motorcycle trek in the South. A bike explodes into a ball of fire, evoking images of Vietnam.

It's open to debate whether the industry was responding to the marketplace with these movies or reacting to changes after years of assassinations, protests and war.

The rating system wasn't motivated by social transformation, but by money, Lewis contends. "It's wrong to think of the new ratings as going hand in hand with the Age of Aquarius," he says, adding that "it was a necessary business move. Within four or five years, Hollywood turned around, and it hasn't had a bad year since."

But these movies weren't made in a vacuum.

"The studios wouldn't have made these if they hadn't determined that's where the audience was," Bernstein says. "Business informs these decisions. But they also happen in a social context."

Were ratings a marketing ploy? A response to a demand for greater freedom? Some of both? The answer may be as ambiguous as the movies that signed off that crazy, wild decade that still fascinates and confuses us.